Few of us are blessed with the energy, interest, knowledge and experience to write highly acclaimed books. But Kalamazoo’s 89-year-old Dr. William A. Decker is one of those who is.

During the past two years, Decker has had two books published. The first, released in 2008, is about what is now known as Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital. The book, titled, “Asylum for the Insane: A History of the Kalamazoo State Hospital,” was designated a Michigan Notable Book in 2009 by the Library of Michigan.

Decker’s most recent work, released in late August, is “Northern Michigan Asylum: A History of the Traverse City State Hospital.”

Most Kalamazoo-area residents are not old enough to remember that the local facility, which now has only a relative handful of patients, was a large complex on Oakland Drive more than a half-century ago. During the 1950s, the patient load reached its zenith at about 3,600.

At that time, the hospital operated like a small city, and Decker was a kind and popular figure there. Some former patients still stay in touch with him.

The Traverse City facility, built in 1885, was closed in 1989. It once had 2,200 patients.Both of Decker’s books have been published by Arbutus Press in Traverse City.

A graduate of Western Michigan University and Wayne State University College of Medicine, Decker started his career in 1953 as a psychiatrist at what was then known as the local state hospital. From 1974 until retirement in 1987, he was the hospital’s medical superintendent and chief executive officer.

He was the 10th superintendent at an institution whose lifetime spans three different centuries. James Coleman has been the hospital’s director since Decker’s retirement.

Decker still lives in Kalamazoo with his wife, Greta, and still provides forensic psychiatry evaluations at area jails. And he has a keen memory of the days before effective psychiatric drugs became available. Harsh treatments such as electro-shock therapy and cold-water baths were in wide use.

Since then, tens of thousands of patients in Michigan and across the nation have been released from hospitals and re-entered their communities. Although some former patients remain community problems, many others have lived relatively normal lives and have achieved success.

Bill Decker played a positive role in helping many people. And in the big picture, he has provided another important written account of a long and important era in Michigan’s history.